Count on Bill Murray to keep us guessing. The acclaimed actor / walking urban legend has revealed plans to star in a Christmas TV special which will have him performing classic holiday tunes. And to make it even more exciting, it’ll be helmed by his Lost in Translation director Sofia Coppola. Hit the jump for more details on the Bill Murray Sofia Coppola Christmas TV special.

Update from Editor Peter Sciretta: The first part of the podcast was published yesterday, which is what we originally reported on. The second part of the conversation is now online, and I have updated the bottom of this story with additional information including Episode VIII shooting schedule, the process of writing the script and shooting location. The original post from September 18th 2014 follows, followed by an BOLDED marked update with the additional information.

Rian Johnson talked a bit about the creative freedom he has been given working on Star Wars Episode VIII (and IX?) while talking to fellow filmmaker Terry Gilliam on the TalkHouse podcast. Find out what Johnson said about writing the next installment of the Star Wars franchise, what it’s like to be working in someone else’s world, the obligation to bring Yoda and puppets back to the series, and an idea to have Gilliam have a cameo which might reveal a possible character in the upcoming eighth film. All this and more can be read and heard in the Rian Johnson Terry Gilliam Star Wars discussion, after the jump.

The trend of producing live-action adaptations of popular animated films continues. Sofia Coppola is in negotiations to direct The Little Mermaid, a live-action adaptation of the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale Disney made into an Oscar-winning film in 1989. Universal Pictures will distribute. Frequent Tim Burton collaborator Caroline Thompson, who wrote Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride, is currently rewriting the script. Read More »

The gorgeously shot, effervescently soundtracked trailers for Sofia Coppola‘s The Bling Ring have done an excellent job of appealing to lots of different groups: arthouse aficionados, Harry Potter fans, even mainstream audiences who just love a good ripped-from-the-headlines drama. But there’s at least one person who was completely turned off by the latest version.

In a series of tweets, real-life Bling Ring member Alexis Neiers blasted the upcoming film as “trashy and inaccurate,” declaring that she has “no intention of seeing this film.” It’s a pretty dramatic change of heart from an earlier statement she wrote about the movie, in which she expressed her optimism that Coppola would “shed light to the truth.” So what is it about the new trailer that’s got her so riled up? Read her words after the jump.

Even for fans of Sofia Coppola, the biggest interest in her new film, The Bling Ring, might be for the man behind the cinematography. The late Harris Savides shot the film, and though he was not able to see the project through to release, his touch is all over it. As anyone familiar with Savides’ work would expect, the film indeed looks gorgeous, with a restrained but perfectly composed color palette.

Granted, it doesn’t hurt that Savides and Coppola were able to train their lens on Emma Watson as the ringleader of a group of teen girls that robbed the homes of Los Angeles celebrities before the so-called “bling ring” was nabbed by cops. This first full trailer gives us a good look at the full span of the movie, from the kids’ initial flush of interest in the scheme, the rush of excitement in the robberies, and their total douchebaggery when caught.

With the release of Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers just around the corner, we now have the first teaser for A24’s other sweet-starlets-gone-bad movie, Sofia Coppola‘s The Bling Ring. Based on true events, the film features Emma Watson playing against type as one of a group of teens who rob the homes of celebs like Paris Hilton. Watch the first teaser after the jump.

Who’s ready to think about next year’s Oscar race? Paramount has just announced a November 15 release for Martin Scorsese‘s The Wolf of Wall Street, putting the crime drama right in the thick of prestige pic season. It already has some stiff competition lined up for that day, including Ridley Scott’s The Counselor, Bill Condon’s The Fifth Estate, Grudge Match, and The Best Man Holiday. Don’t be surprised to see that lineup shift again before we get there.

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as real-life stockbroker Jordan Belfort, chronicling his dramatic rise and fall on Wall Street in the ’90s. Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, and Jean Dujardin also star.

After the jump, find out release dates for The Bling Ring and The Spectacular Now.

Let’s look past the current summer movie for just a second to take a look at a couple of works that are a bit farther off on the horizon. Sofia Coppola‘s fact-based The Bling Ring stars Harry Potter actress Emma Watson as the leader of a band of fame-obsessed thieves who steal from the likes of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, while David Fincher‘s Netflix miniseries House of Cards stars Kevin Spacey as a ruthless politician who’ll stop at nothing to claw his way to the top. Check out the first official photos from both after the jump.

I don’t know how she’s doing it, but Kristen Bell‘s been booking roles almost faster than we can write them up this week. Hot on the heels of news that she’d been cast in Disney’s Frozen and the Neil LaBute adaptation Some Girls, Bell has also landed a part in the dramedy Writers. Recent additions to the film also include Logan Lerman (The Three Musketeers), Nat Wolff (The Naked Brothers Band), Liana Liberato (Trust), and Lily Collins (Mirror, Mirror) joining previously cast stars Greg Kinnear and Jennifer Connelly.

Written and directed by Josh Boone, Writers follows the dysfunctional Borgens family: successful novelist dad Bill (Kinnear), his ex-wife (Connelly), their college-aged daughter (Collins), and teenage son (Wolff). Lerman will play a fellow student pursuing the daughter, while Liberato will play the son’s first love. Bell is lined up for the part of Tricia, who, as Bill’s friend-with-benefits, helps him get over his ex. Shooting on Writers begins next week in North Carolina. [Deadline]

The cast of Stuart Zicherman‘s A.C.O.D. just keeps getting better. Mary Elizabeth Winstead has just joined Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, and Jane Lynch in the comedy, which centers around around thirtysomething Carter (Scott). When his younger brother gets engaged, Carter must try and keep the peace between his long-divorced parents lest they ruin the wedding. Winstead is set to play Lauren Stinger, Carter’s supportive longtime girlfriend.

Winstead drew raves at Sundance earlier this year for her turn in James Ponsoldt’s Smashed, and has A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter due out later this year. [Deadline]